Dirty Toe Drag (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 6)

My heel broke.

I’m speechless as I lift my left shoe to see my heel gone, stuck in a broken part of the steps. My lip quivers, my stomach drops, and when I look at Wes, his eyes are wide. “Oh no.”

“My shoe.”

Still holding me by my waist, he bends down to pick up the discarded YSL. I take it from him, pressing it to my chest as I fight back the tears. There is no way in hell I am crying in front of this guy about a pair of shoes when my sister acted the way she did. I’ll definitely need an Uber if I do. He doesn’t move, doesn’t say a word as I mourn my heel. “I love these shoes.”

“Want me to find some superglue? I can run to the store real fast.”

I shake my head. “You don’t superglue shoes like these. It’ll melt the YSL logo.”

“Oh, okay. This is why you only wear these to New York?”

“Really, I only wear them when we go to fashion shows ’cause it’s carpet and I know they’ll be safe.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” I say softly, my voice breaking. “I knew better. I just wanted to look really good.”

“Not the moment, but you didn’t need the shoes.”

My laugh is soulless. “Yeah, not the moment.”

I swallow back my sob as I lift my foot to take off the broken shoe. To my surprise, Wes reaches for my ankle, bringing it to his thigh and unfastening it. I blink a few times to continue to fight back my tears as I bring my other one up for him to unbuckle. He takes my bag, pulling out my Keds and setting them down for me to put on. “Well, the date is off to a great start,” he jokes, and I feel so stupid, but I love these shoes.

“I know this is dumb, but just imagine breaking your favorite stick.”

“Oh no. I don’t think it’s dumb. These are important shoes to you.”

“I don’t even think they make this style anymore. I got them four years ago.”

“We can Google and check,” he suggests, and I nod slowly, handing him the good shoe to put in the bag.

“I’m gonna hold this one for a while.”

He only nods, and I know he thinks I’m an idiot, but whatever. I’m devastated. We start to walk once more, though I’m walking like I’ve lost a piece of me. Which, I guess I did. It’s not just the shoe; it’s the memories. I wore these to match my mom and my aunt Elli. I wanted to feel like a sexy businesswoman. I wanted to feel important. Plus, I saved for a year for those shoes.

So disappointing.

But then I see a tandem bike, and I realize this is part of our date.

Man, the hits keep coming.

“I’m not sure if you’re mourning the shoes still or dreading the ride?”

“I will be mourning the shoes for a while, but also, I didn’t realize I would be riding a bike with my ass right there in your face.”

“Understandable. And also, that’s the part I’ve been looking forward to all day.”

I start grinning when I didn’t think I could. “Where did you even get a tandem bike?”

“I rented it for us. Wanted to do something fun but also something where we are close.”

I eye him. “I could have given you a lot of ideas.”

“Yes, and I’m sure I have the same ideas, but we’re on a date. We’ve done hot and heavy. Let’s do fun and flirty.”

Funny, that’s what I want. I flash him a wide grin and hand him my broken heel. He takes it slowly. “Wanna put the heel in your pocket?”

“Are you teasing me?”

“Not at all. I broke my favorite stick one time, and I kept the blade for years.”

I smile as I shake my head. “I appreciate you not thinking I’m crazy.”

“I would never,” he says, tucking my shoe in my bag before putting it in the basket of the bike. “I feel responsible and really bad about it.”

“Don’t. It’s my fault for trying so hard.”

“Especially when you don’t need to,” he reminds me, and I fight back my grin. When a guy comes over, unlocking the bike for us, Wes wheels it out for me to get on. “Come on.”

I get on the first seat, and he gets on behind me before handing his phone to the guy. The guy holds up his phone, and Wes wraps his arm around my waist, tucking his head in between my head and my shoulder. I lean into him, smiling from ear to ear. Yeah, I lost my favorite pair of shoes, but I’m about to have a blast in its honor.

* * *

I have never ridden a tandem bike, and I’ve decided that not only do I love it, but Wes and I need one.